Natural Baby Powder

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Here's a simple recipe for natural baby powder you can make at home

By Amanda Factor

This simple homemade baby powder recipe is excerpted from There's Lead in Your Lipstick: Toxins in Our Everyday Body Care and How to Avoid Them (Penguin Canada). Author Gillian Deacon has amassed a collection of recipes for beauty and body products, from DIY deodorant to sunscreen, as well as loads of tips and advice on choosing products that are free of harmful ingredients.

Deacon doesn't use much baby powder these days, as her kids are big, but she is a fan of making her own beauty products at home to save money and her skin. She says readers of her book may be shocked to find that they can no longer assume the products that come into contact with their babies' skin are safe. "There are highly dangerous chemical compounds in a lot of well-known and recognized brand-named bath products," says Deacon. Phthalates, for example, are hidden in fragranced products and are linked to damage to male sperm as well as other serious health problems. So that strawberry-scented bubble bath sitting in your bathroom, while delicious-smelling, might not be the best thing for your baby or toddler.

Besides whipping up batches of homemade baby powder, what else can an earth-conscious parent do? "Don’t purge your entire house at once, unless you have deep pockets," says Deacon. "Stop buying anything that contains parabens, including baby bottom cream." If you head over to Deacon's website, you can download a handy wallet-sized card with brands to look for and toxins to avoid. "A lot of people will feel overwhelmed, especially new parents who are receivng advice on every decision you make. The book isn't meant to be alarmist, fear-mongering or upsetting. I meant for it to be a constructive, helpful tool that provides a lot of solutions."

Sweetly Scented Baby Powder

1 1/2 cups arrowroot

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup chamomile flowers, finely ground

1/2 cup cornstarch

20 drops lavender or sweet orange essential oil

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Add the oil to the dry ingredients. If stirring by hand, combine oil with a few tablespoons of powdered mix to avoid raising dust. 

Once a small amount of powder has absorbed the oil, gently mix in the remaining powder to evenly distribute the scent.

From: There's Lead in Your Lipstick by Gillian Deacon. Copyright © Backbone Inc. FSO Gillian Deacon, 2011. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Group (Canada), a Division of Pearson Canada Inc.